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UK parliament gives three-parent IVF the go-ahead

IN AN outbreak of scientific enlightenment among politicians, UK members of parliament have voted to allow mitochondrial donation. A vote on Tuesday passed with 382 in favour and 128 against.

The procedure will allow women with genetic faults in their mitochondria – the cell’s energy generators – to have children without fear of passing on their faulty mitochondrial DNA. It involves transferring the nucleus of the mother’s egg or fertilised embryo into an egg from an unrelated donor. The resulting child will inherit its nuclear DNA from its parents and its mitochondrial DNA from the donor.

In the debate prior to the vote, health minister Jane Ellison told parliament&colon; “This is a bold step but it’s an informed step, and for the families involved it’s a light at the end of a very long tunnel.”

The opposition’s shadow health minister Luciana Berger also threw her weight behind the procedure. “There will always have to be a leap of faith the first time it’s used in humans,” she said.

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One potential beneficiary is Hannah Smith, a 27-year-old woman from Measham in England. She has Melas syndrome, a condition in which a mitochondrial genetic fault can result in diabetes, hearing loss and epilepsy. “I’m of a child-bearing age and it couldn’t have come at a better time,” Smith told New Scientist. “It means I can live a normal life, my children can live a normal life and their children can live a normal life.”

This article appeared in print under the headline “Mitochondrial donation is a go”